The buzz at the Capitol today is over a report that Governor Andrew Cuomo is going to introduce fundamental changes to the way the budget process works by eliminating automatic spending increases that are currently required by law.

“I think it is very significant. And I think it is very exciting,” Budget Director Robert Megna said in an interview on Talk 1300 AM’s “Live at the State Capitol with Fred Dicker.”

“We at the budget division have been saying for many years that the reason we have these gaps is because we have laws on the books that do not change, that drive costs.”

Cuomo administration officials say those automatic increases have been in place for decades, and translate into roughly a 13 percent for education and medicaid. So, for example, what would have been described as a 10 percent cut in funding in the past, was instead a 3 percent increase in funding.

Sources inside the Cuomo administration say that eliminating these automatic increases would cut the proposed budget gap to roughly $2 billion, as opposed to the $10 billion expected for this year. Megna wouldn’t confirm the exact number when asked, but he did suggest that Cuomo was going to propose reforms to eliminate recurring budget gaps.

‘I think people are going to howl about this because the Governor is trying to change the way we fundamentally do the budget. And we on the first floor appreciate this,” Megna said.

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